Until We Bleed
by rosetalbots
Summary: How much hurt can one person take? When will it ever be enough? This is the only beginning of a long journey. A journey of love, loss, and self-discovery. S/E
1. Chapter 1

**Sooooo I recently started shipping Sterica. And this is what I came up with. Ha-ha. Hope you like it!**

..

Chapter One

Stiles threw his backpack onto his bed and fell into his desk chair. He rubbed his eyes and sighed loudly as memories of the past few hours flew through his mind once again. Erica telling him she liked him, Kanima drama, Scott joining Derek's pack, Erica almost dying, Erica, Erica, Erica. The blonde seemed to have blocked all noteworthy thoughts that were of more significance. He should be focusing on how to handle Jackson's situation. He _should _be focusing on how to make sure he gets out of the given situation _alive. _But as of now all he can think of are Erica's words that were spoken to him outside of the boy's locker room. Did she _really _used to like him? If she had, did he _really not pay ANY _attention to her, _whatsoever_? It reminded Stiles of him and Lydia's situation. She barely noticed him, and it hurt like hell knowing that she'll probably never like him as much as he likes her. Of course, he still 'loves' Lydia, as he likes to say. But after hearing Erica's words, he might just feel a little bit of sympathy, because she reminds him of his own pain.

He spent years liking Lydia Martin. She was beautiful, smart, talented, and an overall leader. Lydia was everything he wanted. It was almost a dream come true when she had accepted going to homecoming with him. But even though he was ecstatic, his excitement didn't make him ignorant. Lydia still had feelings for Jackson. She probably always will. What can he do about that? It's not like he can cast a spell on her to magically make her love him, instead. Even though there were obstacles that should steer him away from Lydia, he always kept hope, for some unusual reason. Maybe he was just tired of being lonely. Maybe this was the aftermath of his mother's death. Could he still be traumatized after something that happened so long ago? Millions of questions seemed to jumble up his brain. But there was only one thing that he knew for sure; he wanted to be done being lonely.

He wanted to be done being the sidekick that everyone expected him to be. He was done with being just a shadow in his best friend's 'magnificence'. For once in his life, _he_ wanted to be the special one. Erica's earlier words, 'You make a good Batman', hit him a bit hard in the most unusual way. He couldn't put his finger on why it made him feel so remarkably happy.

Stiles shook his head and breathed out heavily in exasperation. He was too tired to think anymore. Slowly and tiredly he fell onto his bed and threw his backpack onto the floor, deciding he could just do his homework in class tomorrow. He couldn't wait to fall asleep and escape it all. To escape into a world without any werewolves or tragedies or deaths…A world where possibly his mother was still alive and laughing like she always used to. Where his dad wasn't constantly depressed; where empty bottles of alcohol didn't keep filling up the kitchen counter, reminding him that his father wanted to forget just as much as he did.

In that moment he just wanted to let go. Of everything. He did just that as he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

..

He wanted the day to pass as a blur. For once, he wanted it go by as routinely and normally as possible. Was that too much to ask? Clearly, it was. The library began its reconstruction, which made the halls surprisingly more crowded. The fact of this lessened his tolerance level for that day, for some odd reason. Jackson, as always, kept his nose high in the air as he always had. Then there was Scott and Alison, who consistently exchanged longing looks throughout the entire day, which began to hit him as more annoying and cheesy than 'romantic'.

Sometimes he thought of Scott as bit of a crappy friend. Of course, he loved the guy and he'd always be there for him, but there was just something missing. Ever since Alison came into Scott's life, Stiles felt as if he'd been abandoned in a way. The only thing Scott cared about anymore was Alison. Just Alison. Stiles knew that romantic relationships were important, but friendships should always be held in a high place, as well. He wouldn't doubt if there was a life or death situation and Scott would save Alison first. The very thought of that hurt him inside, just a little.

It was in between fifth and sixth period when he spotted Lydia. He usually saw her at this time of day, but this time there was something different. It was almost like she was half-dead. Her posture was slumped, her eyes held no light like they always had, she kept her gaze on the floor as she walked past his locker. Lydia was obviously in no mood to talk. It was almost like his mouth had a mind of his own, because he was thinking to himself it'd be better if he just let her be.

"Lydia, you alright?" He watched her as she stopped in her tracks and sighed, slowly turning around to face him.

"Why do you even care, Stiles."

"You just look…not yourself?" He asked, or stated, in a very hesitant manner. She rolled her eyes and slumped her shoulders.

She made it sound more like a statement than a question. Lydia began to stalk closer to him, eyes slitted. "I've been through a lot lately…" She said slowly, as is he should have known this already. "Why, do I not look good enough for your presence? Is that it?" She shot. He furrowed his eyebrows and quickly shook his head.

"No—no, Lydia you know you're beau-Ah...W-what's gotten into you?" He stuttered. "You don't seem yourself."

"I'm actually confused with my life, Stiles. Believe it or not, _I _am actually _confused_ about things. I _never _get confused."

"Confused?" He asked worriedly. How unusual for him. "Why would you be confused—."

"Things are happening that shouldn't be happening, _my own friends _are acting like crazy people, I know for a FACT that the people I thought I was closest too are hiding things from me…I-I'm just confused. Okay?"

"Lydia, can I help you with anything? I mean I could—."

"And I don't need YOU chasing me around like a lost puppy all the time!" She blurted out like she regretted nothing. He remained silent with his mouth wide open, eyebrows furrowed.

"Wha—What?" He asked, hurt.

"I know about your little 'crush', Stiles. I've known ever since freshman year, okay? But you have GOT to face the facts." Lydia was being so uncharacteristic. He had no idea what has gotten into her, and he didn't like where this was going. At all. What could have happened to her recently that made her so intense? "You and I?-" She motioned towards each other. "-Will never happen. So I'd appreciate if you'd back off and leave me with my own problems. I can handle myself."

Lydia had a sort of coldness in her eyes that made his heart shrink within his body. "I—I." He was speechless. Completely and utterly speechless. He had never in his entire life witnessed Lydia act like this. He couldn't for the life of him even _imagine _she'd act this way, _especially_ towards him. Words could not begin to describe how lost he felt. It was like she ripped his heart out from his chest and threw it on the ground, not hesitating to stomp on it before abandoning it forever.

"I'm just trying to be a good friend, Lydia." He stated softy. There was pure annoyance evident in her eyes.

"No, Stiles! Just leave me alone." It was like he could feel his heart breaking with every passing second. "The _last_ thing I need right now is your help."

"You know, I honestly don't understand what's gotten into you. But that gives you _no _right to act this way towards me." He said with a bit of anger flaring. "I would have done anything for you, Lydia. I would have honestly died for you. How can you not appreciate that—"

"Because I don't love you, Stiles!" She yelled. The entire hallway went quiet. He wanted to die.

His mouth hung open as she sighed and walked away, faster than before. Stiles shook his head and ran his hands over his head, immediately followed by him slamming his locker as hard as he possibly could, catching the stares of others in the hallway. He walked to his next class with anger and sadness he'd never thought he'd feel towards the girl he'd never thought he'd stop loving.

..

Stiles decided to skip lacrosse practice. If he never played then what was the point? He just wanted to go home, sit in his room, close his eyes, and pretend today never happened. He walked to his parking space with pure anticipation to get away from everyone.

"Having some girlfriend issues, I hear?" Stiles jumped and made an awkward squeak as he saw Erica leaned against his car. She had this crooked smirk on her face which made him want to punch something. She chuckled. "You're surprised to see me?"

"How do you know—."

"Know about what?" She put on her innocent look, and he bit his tongue in order not to say anything out of line. "You and Lydia? Word gets around quick when the most popular girl in school gets pissed and starts screaming at the top of her lungs between fifth and sixth period." She smirked again.

He rubbed his face in annoyance and frustration. "Why are you here, Erica?"

"I was bored." He shot her a confused look.

"You're a member of Derek's wolfy-pack and you could be _literally_ doing a million other things right now, but you decide to greet me as I arrive at my car…because you're _bored?_" He asked blankly.

She rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "And…maybe I wanted to thank you for what you did yesterday." He paused and looked at her closely for a moment.

"Y-you wanted to thank me? I didn't do anything worth thanking, trust me." He laughed awkwardly. She furrowed her eyebrows.

"Of course you did." She said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Erica could see that he was still confused so she decided to further her explanation, much to her dismay. "You held me when I was in pain, when I thought I was going to die." He remembered that moment as clearly as if it happened seconds ago. She was screaming, Derek was panicking, and he just sat there holding Erica in his arms as Derek basically made the situation worse to make it better overall. And when it was all over, she called him 'Batman'. All he could do was hold her until she fell into unconsciousness.

"Well that was nothing—"

"It wasn't 'nothing', Stiles. It was a lot, actually." She stated. He could actually see a glint of warmth in her eyes, something so unique and rare. Erica Reyes was _actually_ being sincere. But it disappeared as soon as it came. "If I were you, I wouldn't waste your time on Lydia."

"Why would you say that?" Stiles asked, anger obviously bubbling up in the pit of his stomach.

"Yeah, yeah…You love her and all that shit. I get it." She started, unfolding her arms. "But she's never going to feel the same way about you." Erica walked past him and turned around.

"How could you say that? You have no idea—I mean. It could happen. It's not like me and Lydia aren't compati—." He stopped himself from talking and sighed. Stiles looked to the ground and shook his head. "I honestly don't know what to think, anymore." He admitted quietly. She pressed her lips together.

"You two would never work, Stiles. She loves Jackson. It's _always_ going to be Jackson." Stiles looked up at her. "Why do you think she keeps running back into his arms? Just the other night when you were hiding away in Scott's house they were having a heated make out session." He shook his head rapidly; Stiles didn't want to believe this.

"No—No they broke up. You're wrong, Erica." She shot him a look.

"Am I?"

"How do you even know that?—." He paused for a moment. "Isaac." He stated, remembering the person who snuck up behind him and Alison that night, unknowingly in the house.

"If I were you I'd give up on that dream." She said. He huffed and pulled out his keys, swiftly turning around to face his car. "You deserve someone who'll always choose you." Had he heard her correctly? Did Erica Reyes _really _just say that to him? His heart stopped as he turned away to face her. He wanted to say something but he didn't know what.

Her face was stone cold as she gave him one last look, before turning around and walking off into the distance. At this point he didn't even know _what_ to think. Erica's last words gave him a feeling in the pit of his stomach he'd rather not address.

No—no. Erica is too dangerous for a guy like Stiles. Entering that territory would be suicide for him. He couldn't, he wouldn't. Would he? What did he even feel at this point? The girl he loved turned him down rather harshly, closely followed by yet _another_ girl making him feel so…confused.

_What does he even want?_

Thoughts endlessly ran throughout his brain as he opened the door to his car and sat in the driver's seat. Stiles closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the steering wheel.

"God, why me?" He asked before firing up his engine and driving home.

..

**Should I continue? **


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh. My. God. Let me just say I was DEFINITELY not expecting that many alerts. Like, seriously. I'm freaking out. **

..

Chapter Two

_He walked down an empty street. This place wasn't familiar to him. Stiles looked up to the sky and saw it was night, but strangely, there was no moon. Where was this light coming from? How could he see? He was standing in the middle of a road, it was deserted. The silence was deafening as he observed the lifeless houses that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see._

"_Hello?" He called. No answer. "I'm lost." He said quietly._

"_You're not lost." He jumped at the sound of her voice. It was familiar, comforting. Slowly, he turned around and smiled._

_She smiled right back. "Where am I?"_

"_Exactly where you need to be, Stiles." She walked up to him with a heartening twinkle in her eye. "You're with me." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. She dug her face into his chest as he ran his fingers through her long, blonde hair._

"_I'm with you." He repeated. "That's all that matters." She smiled against his chest._

"_Will you promise me something?" She asked quietly, slowly pulling away. He grabbed both her hands and entwined their fingers, looking deeply into her eyes. He nodded. "Promise me I'll always have your heart."_

"_I promise, Erica." Stiles said with a smile. "I promise." She nodded and backed away from him slowly, letting go of his hand. "Why are you leaving?"_

"_We'll see each other soon." She said with a reassuring smile. He just nodded and watched as she slowly walked into the darkness. "Remember your promise."_

He slowly opened his eyes to find a familiar, but annoying noise greeting him as he lay in his bed. He punched the 'snooze' button on his alarm and groaned. Daylight shone through his window and it burned his eyes. Another day he must go through…another day of self-torture. He knew he could handle it, but for how much longer? Could this be the day that things will change? He didn't exactly know what he wanted to change about his life, to begin with. He just felt…empty.

But Stiles, as he always had, pushed those deeper thoughts and memories of his dream aside. And he went through his morning routine as if he had no problem at all.

..

"Hey, man. You okay?" Stiles quickly looked up at Scott. It was lunch and him, along with every other student in the school, was happy the day was already half-over. He furrowed his eyebrows as he took a bite out of his apple.

"Yeeeaah…" He said. "Are _you _okay?" Scott nodded slowly with a curious expression.

"For the most part…I'm just wondering since you don't seem yourself." Scott stated. "Not lately. You've been quieter than usual. Actually—a _lot _quieter." Stiles was actually _shocked_ Scott even saw a difference, regarding all the attention he's spent on Alison.

"I'm fine…"

"Is this—uh. Is this because of your, you know…" Scott said nervously.

"My what?" Scott leaned over the table to look him in the eye.

"Your mom?" Stiles went silent and stared at Scott. He put his apple down on the table and flickered his gaze to the floor. "I mean…it is close to the anniversary of—." Scott was hesitant again. "The incident." Stiles breathed out heavily.

"No—no. I'm okay, Scott." He said quietly.

"Are you sure?" His friend asked, unbelieving.

"I'm fine, Scott." He reassured. "I'm fine." Scott just nodded and continued to eat his lunch. Stiles lost his appetite and just stared at the ground for the remainder of lunch.

..

It was later on, in the course of days, that Stiles found out his father had lost his job, _because of him. _He had left his dad alone to join Scott in trying to stop Jackson and his master. He had been given a job, an opportunity to prove himself as something, but he utterly failed in a sort of way. The only good that has come out of the situation was that he had managed to somewhat protect Erica and Isaac. But overall, he had only half succeeded. It wasn't good enough for him.

Stiles was just tired. He's been tired all the time, lately. He was tired of failing his dad, making him pay for the mistakes he has done. He was tired of constantly feeling alone, all the time. He was tired of not having anyone to talk to, not having anyone to express his deeper emotions. On the outside, people saw a hyperactive, clumsy, sarcastic boy. But there was nothing on the inside. Absolutely nothing.

Stiles let those unwanted thoughts sink in as a tap from his window echoed throughout the room. He jumped out of his desk chair and barely fell as he saw the person sitting on the outside of his window. It took him a minute to process the situation, but once he did, he moved slowly and hesitantly as he slid open the window and let the guest in.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He whispered rather loudly. "Oh let me guess…you're 'bored'." Erica chuckled as she stepped through the windowsill with her knee-high boots and slowly walked into his room, observing it closely. "Seriously, what are you doing here? H-how do you even know where I live?—"

"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?" She cut him off. He wore an insulted expression but she just rolled her eyes. She moved towards his family pictures on his wall and studied them. He furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head confusedly.

"Seriously, Erica. What do you want?" He asked tiredly.

"Don't flatter yourself." Erica looked back at him with raised eyebrows.

"I wasn't-."

"Derek gave me a direct order to come here and check up on you." Erica stated. Now he was even more jumbled. "I guess you're a key aspect in helping stop the Kanima. And obviously we can't have you dead."

"Okay—please explain to me how I am a 'key aspect'?" She shrugged and sat on his bed. Something about the sight made his stomach flutter.

"I don't know. I guess the veterinarian dude said you were 'special'." He rubbed his eyes annoyingly.

"Special how?" He asked loudly, even more impatient and confused than before. She sighed loudly and crossed her legs.

"Derek didn't give me any details, Stiles. Calm yourself." She said bluntly. He groaned and collapsed into his desk chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose with exasperation. "Nice little room you have, here." Erica finally said, looking around once again. He brought his gaze up to her.

"Why are you still here?" He asked. She wore a fake-insulted look.

"What, are you nervous?" She chuckled. "Ever had a girl in your room, Stiles? Or more importantly, _your bed_?" He gulped nervously and drew his attention to his hands. He _really _hated her right now. "I thought so…"

"Are you done here?" He finally asked. She raised her eyebrows and got up from the bed.

"Not really. But I have better things to get to, anyways." She said as she walked towards the window. "I'll see you at school." She sang. Stiles rolled his eyes and waved her a sarcastic goodbye. When she finally disappeared he huffed out air that he thought he held the entire time she was here.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

..

**Review so I know you're actually reading this! Haha.**

**Spoiler Alert: Next chapter will unlock some truth about why Stiles is 'special', and his mother.**


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